


Apathy

by hopeofnyan



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Asgore Dreemurr Needs a Hug, Asriel wakes up, Gen, He hasn't renamed himself but he really is Flowey at this point, Mentioned Chara (Undertale)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-04
Updated: 2021-03-04
Packaged: 2021-03-16 22:00:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,596
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29831508
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hopeofnyan/pseuds/hopeofnyan
Summary: Asriel Dreemurr died a tragic and violent death after Chara's plan failed. No one planned for him waking up as a flower filled with apathy, least of all him or his father. Asgore Dreemurr is a wonderful father but not a therapist.
Relationships: Asgore Dreemurr & Flowey
Kudos: 6





	Apathy

Fourteen days had passed. Fourteen whole days and nights, and Asriel could not feel any positive emotion whatsoever. He had tried - really tried. But every time Dad read him pages of his favorite books, or offered him tea, or talked to him, Asriel...felt nothing. He went through the motions of saying "thank you" and nodded his head and acted grateful, but there was no true driving force of emotion. Numbness had crept into him and seized hold of him like weeds in a garden.

At night, Asriel had taken to wandering about the grounds. The first night, he had maneuvered through the floorboards into his room. Dad had gently lifted him, careful not to break his roots, on to his old bed, stayed with him until Asriel drifted into the realm of unconsciousness. A nightmare spurred him awake, gasping for breath, wildly glancing around the room. It took a few moments to perceive through the veil of the Surface that he was in his room. Then his gaze dropped upon the other bed. The empty one, absent of his sibling. The one where Chara's soft breathing had helped lull him to sleep on restless nights.

"Chara?" Asriel whispered. He kept talking to fill the silence. "I had a nightmare. You were there. I thought...I thought you would be here. If I woke up, then why couldn't you?"

This was the part where he was supposed to sniffle, vainly hold his breath, and sob into his hands. But he was as empty as that bed, he had no hands to cry into, and he had no tears to shed.

Suddenly, Asriel could not stand being on that bed, being in that room; they belonged to someone who was gone. Well, they belonged to two people who were both gone, technically. Asriel was a _flower_ now – a creature that could not put on clothes or pull covers over himself or draw in his sketchbook because he had no limbs or paws or real body. A flower stem was not a body. Leaves were not arms or hands. Petals were not fur. This existence was not truly _him_ ; it was nothing but a vessel. Surely it was not him. Surely Asriel could figure out a way to be _real_ again.

A wave of frustration rose up in him and he let out a sound between a howl and a wail.

_At least I can feel one thing._

He soon regretted it upon hearing the thumping of footsteps from down the hallway preceding the shoving of a door. Dad moved faster than Asriel had seen him move in a long time and reached him in two seconds.

“My son, what is wrong? Are you hurt?” he asked frantically.

“No! I’m just… _I hate this_! I hate being in this…flower and not being _me_! I hate not being a real monster and not having arms or legs or hands or feet or claws or ears! I hate not feeling anything but frustration! I hate that Chara is gone! I hate that Mom is gone! You still haven’t told me what happened to her even though I’ve asked four times!” Asriel shouted. Once the words began, he had been unable to stop.

His father’s anguished, contorted expression was one that the real Asriel would have cringed at and felt regret for, but as he looked at the man then, Asriel could not muster up anything except frustration. Not that he was surprised at this anymore.

“Asriel…my child, I am so, so sorry.” Dad sat down next to Asriel and leaned against the wall. “I wish there were something I could do to make it better. Some way I could have prevented any of the horrid things that happened to you.”

Asriel huffed before saying, “You could explain what happened to Mom.”

Many long seconds passed before Dad spoke again, nearly a minute. Asriel almost thought that he would get no answer when, in a soft voice, his father began talking. “Your mother left because of me. A long time has passed since you and Chara…died. We waited half an hour before deciding to check on you and her after she said she wanted one last moment alone with you. Before we made it to your room, though, we heard very loud footsteps in the basement. It only took a few moments for us to realize that you had absorbed Chara’s soul. You were too fast for us to catch up, and we followed too far behind you to stop you from going through the Barrier. We waited for what felt like hours…” Asgore trailed off and it took Asriel nudging him with a leaf to get him to recollect his thoughts. “I don’t know if you remember, but we helped you get to the throne room before you collapsed and succumbed to your injuries on the flowers. The wounds were too great; we should have healed you right at the Barrier instead of trying to get back home, but your mother and I ended up…dragging you and trying to heal you…at the same time.” Asgore brushed at his cheeks to wipe away the tears streaming down them. “Time passed. We eventually called for the kingdom to gather so we could make an announcement. I became…emotional and said dishonorable things during my address to the monsters. Your mother was disgusted with me. She took Chara’s body and left when I refused to apologize or retract what I had said later on. And now it is…just me, living here, with you now.” The boss monster offered Asriel a watery smile. “I’m glad you are here, Asriel, even if you are not as you used to be.”

“Do you know where Mom is?” Asriel asked, choosing not to acknowledge his father’s statement.

“No. I have my guesses, but I do not know where your mother is for certain,” Asgore admitted.

“I see.” Asriel stared ahead with a peculiar expression on his face. “I’m sorry you had to go through that, Dad.”

“There is no need to apologize. It was my own fault.” Asgore laid a paw next to one of Asriel’s drooping leaves. “Do not pity an old man his mistakes. They are not your concern.”

“No, Dad,” Asriel interjected, “they are. All of this is my fault, really. I shouldn’t have absor –”

_You’re not a crybaby, are you, Asriel? You’re not going to back out of this and be a coward, are you?_ The memory of Chara’s words echoed in his mind.

“I should have been more careful. More…smart.”

Asriel hoped that his last effort at trying to feel something for his father worked. Maybe the numbness would subside soon.

“No, Asriel, it was not your fault at all. You did _nothing_ wrong,” Dad protested, looking straight at him. “ _This was not your fault_.”

“Chara talked to me while I had her soul. She told me right before we died that I was an idiot.” Asriel shrugged nonchalantly, thinking that the real him would have been disturbed at his casualness.

“Asriel…you are no idiot and you never have been. I cannot imagine what Chara was thinking, but she was wrong.”

The flower turned towards the monster beside him with the most neutral expression he had ever worn and tonelessly said, “Thank you, Dad.”

The words felt wrong to him. Why was he thanking his father? Was this man truly his father at all if he was not _really_ Asriel anymore?

“Of course, my son. I…I am so sorry,” Asgore sighed with a weary expression.

“I’m tired. Gonna go to bed,” Asriel informed him.

“Would you like me to –”

“No, I would rather be alone right now. Good night.”

Before Asgore could say anything else, Asriel moved down the hall and burrowed under the door before popping into his old room. He stayed still, waiting for the sound of Asgore moving away. It took what felt like hours, though really it was only a few minutes according to the clock, for the monster to go back to his own room. Asriel exited his room after magically burrowing through the floor, heading to cabinet near the stairs to the basement.

Opening it with one of his conjured vines was difficult; it was a poor excuse for an appendage but was better than a leaf. Grasping the notebook was even more difficult. Asriel ended up just flopping it on the ground and cringing at the noise of other sliding objects it bumped into on the way to the ground. He felt around the space for a writing utensil and managed to scrounge up a half-used pencil. The led was dull, but it was there. With great effort, Asriel began writing as best he could on an open page. Upon finishing he winced at how sloppy the writing was. The eraser was so worn down that he had needed to cross out and rewrite five words. At least it was legible.

Asriel opted to leave the notebook open for Asgore to find rather than tear the paper out. He would likely end up just ripping it up. Before taking his leave, Asriel peeked under the crack of Asgore’s door. The monster was sobbing into his hand, clearly attempting to muffle his cries. Several crumpled tissues were haphazardly stacked in a pile on the floor near the bed where he sat. Asriel sighed, wishing he could feel an ounce of sympathy for the man. But he could only feel apathy.

Perhaps Mom would be able to help.


End file.
